That's something I've noticed recently as I've been looking at new tv's. What the heck were these tv manufacturers thinking? I'd be willing to be that at LEAST 50% of their buyers have HT setups. Where do they expect people to put their center channels? Grrrr...
I've seen at a couple places that you can buy a small "shelf" that attaches to the top/back of your tv, so you can place the speaker on top of the set. It's not the prettiest thing, but it would be better than that giant arm you're considering.
Here's one I found.
